Study tracks child deaths from ATVs

Children under the age of 16 are seven times more likely to ride bicycles than all-terrain vehicles, yet ATVs cause more deaths among youngsters than their pedaling counterparts, according to a new study.

Jim Helmkamp, who tracks ATV statistics as director of West Virginia University’s Injury Control Research Center, found that on average 171 children died each year across the country in ATV accidents between 2000 and 2004, compared with 157 deaths from bicycle crashes.

The National Sporting Goods Assn. estimates that 14.2 million children ages 7 to 17 ride bicycles in the United States, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there are about 2.2 million ATV riders under the age of 16.

The study was commissioned by the Concerned Families for ATV Safety, an organization founded in 2005 by parents who lost children in ATV accidents. For more details, go to its website at www.atvsafetynet.org.